Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Body Building Tips for Teens
Teenage body builders are becoming more and more common. And why not? Getting ripped is a great way to improve your self-esteem, get the respect of your peers, attract the girls (a big motivator for most teenage guys) and give you a healthy interest. It's also a good way to find an older man to mentor you in more than just body building. And besides, if you're considering a career that involves a lot of muscular strength, having a good set of muscles will count in your favour at the interview and help you in your job. I'm not just talking pro bodybuilding or sport as a career, either. Military, police, firefighting, construction, forestry, security and agriculture are all career areas where the muscular strength and mental discipline developed by teen body building will all be a real asset (and even if you want to be a teacher, body building can help. Wouldn't you have had some serious respect for a teacher who had body builder muscles?). The teen years have some advantages when it comes to body building. During this stage of life, your male hormones (androgen and testosterone) are at a naturally high level like they will be at no other stage in your life. What's more, your HGH (human growth hormone) levels are also peaking right now. Older bodybuilders have to take supplements to get the levels you already have. Your body wants to pack on muscle as you transition from being a boy to being a man, so let your instincts rip and get ripped! Top tips:
Don't take steroids
They are illegal and will do your body serious damage. You will get caught. Period. Eat well. You've heard your mom bang on about "eat up your meat/greens/potatoes to grow big and strong" when you were little. She's right. To build big, powerful muscles, you will need to eat right. Avoid takeout foods and eat plenty of good food ' complex carbs like wholemeal and potatoes (and popcorn), lean protein, fresh fruit and veggies. During the teen years, you will naturally crave proteins, so maybe consider protein supplements so you don't eat the cupboards bare every day. A-Z Nutrition has a range of protein supplements like shakes and bars at low prices that will suit a teen's budget ' you'll be better spending your money here than at fast food outlets. Just hide them from your little sister ' they taste great!
Balanced workouts
At your age, focussing on just one body part per workout is a bad idea. You can put some serious strain on your bones and joints that you will regret in later years. Go for whole body workouts at this stage. You won't be a teen for long ' the "chest on Monday, back on Wednesday, legs on Friday" type of workout is for when you're out of this initial stage.
Aerobics
Yes, you will see the older body builders standing around and resting in between sets and exercises. However, you can overdo the rest times. It is important to boost your cardiovascular fitness as well as your strength, as this increases stamina and bloodflow. As you are doing a whole body workout at your age, you should do some cardio daily. Try running or cycling, or use some of the cardio-type machines at the gym. Supplements. You will not need any of the dietary supplements designed to raise your testosterone level or HGH levels, as these are already at a peak at levels that the older guys envy. The one exception to this one is the zinc products, as zinc helps with skin problems such as acne as well as overall health. Stick to basics such as multivitamins and protein supplements. Coaching
A good coach will show you how to lift right so you don't injure yourself. He/she will also be there with good advice regarding diet and nutrition, exercise plans and other tips. If you absolutely can't afford a pro coach, then find an older guy at the gym who looks like a serious bodybuilder to act as your mentor. He'll be flattered, so don't be shy.
Stretch
You will need to be flexible and you will need to warm up your muscles before doing weights or any exercise. Do plenty ' this is one exercise you can't overdo.
First things first
Before you start pumping iron, pump yourself. Start off with push ups, chin ups and dips before moving onto the metal. What's more you can do these anywhere and they're a good way to impress your buddies at school.
Time
Your workouts should be less than an hour. At your stage of development, an intense workout should be over in 20-30 minutes. If you are not exhausted by this stage, then you are not working out intensively enough. Go all the way. When using weights, aim to use the full range of motion. You may see more advanced bodybuilders using only a half range occasionally, but this is for advanced strength training only. Teens need to be able to work all their muscles, ligaments, joints and bones throughout the entire movement. So no cheating or excuses.
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Food and Diet for More Energy
Do you find that you get fatigued during the afternoon? There are better choices than reaching for that candy bar, soda, or the latest energy drink. Food and diet is essential to giving your body more energy during the day. With making some easy diet choices you can have more energy and feel alive during those once sluggish hours.
The fatigue and lack of energy you feel is associated with how you fuel your metabolism. Another way of looking at it is the food you eat or not eat is causing you have low energy and want to take a nap at work. If you are having any lack of energy throughout the day, now is a great time to start making better dietary choices.
The common diet programs that create this lack of energy are low calorie diets or eating 3 meals a day or less. Also, if your diet habits consist of fast food, candy, or soft drinks then your body is simply not getting the energy it needs and how it wants it was balanced energy levels. Another aspect that affects your energy with poor food choices is a lack of essential vitamins, minerals, complex carbs, and amino acids. All of these are building blocks for proper metabolism functioning.
The major issue with the ineffective diet programs of Americans is bad habits actually create more bad habits. Many people think that if they just had will power they won't succumb to food cravings that crush their diets. The reality is that poor choices create times when your body is in low blood sugar and that period is what causes your cravings. It is physiology that causes them not a lack of mental strength. Did you know that once you start eating 5 small meals during the day your cravings for sugar go away? Follow me on this person's day. We are starting with breakfast though they don't eat breakfast because they have noticed that if they skip breakfast they don't feel hungry till lunch. So at lunch they go out to dinner with their coworkers. Now, from a lack of energy they over eat more food than they should at any one meal. The problem is this doesn't feel or looks like too much food because this is what they are used to. How do I know this is too much food because at around 2 or 3 pm they are crashing. Their energy is low and they have become exceptionally irritable. Does this sound familiar?
So what are we supposed to eat? The goal is to eat 5 small meals throughout the day. For the average American this is cutting their normal meal in half and eating the other half as a snack. Breakfast starts the day either burning fat or storing fat. You know you had a proper breakfast because you are hungry 2-3 hours later, and it is time for another snack. You want to keep having small meals every two to three hours throughout the day. The reason this is good is because your body is burning calories and wants more fuel to keep burning. I know it seems logical if you don't eat you will lose weight. The problem is when you don't eat your body stores the food you eat as fat. When you fuel your body every 2-3 hours your body starts to burn more energy and will stop storing energy. This is the key to healthy losing weight.
Another key aspect to controlling your energy levels is the use of caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that supports your body to release adrenaline into your system. Caffeine in moderation, as in one cup of coffee doesn't throw your body out of balance. Having a multiple cups or some of the energy drinks and your body is running on artificial energy and then you crash. Once you crash you want that good feeling again, and so you are off on another Starbucks run. I know people who go to Starbucks every 2-3 hours or after each time their body crashes. One thing on energy drinks, Red Bull has less caffeine than a cup of coffee though I can't guarantee what is in the rest of the energy drinks.
Do you need more protein or more carbs in your meals? If you find that your meals are made of mostly carbs or simple sugars than eating protein with your meals with balance you out. Most Americans are over eating protein. If you are not getting a small amount of complex carbs in each meal, this is another reason why you are low on energy. Carbs are you body's fuel. Protein is designed to rebuild your muscle tissue and your body doesn't want to use it as energy.
Adding proper supplementation can make easy healthy and throughout the day easier. For most people getting that mid morning or mid afternoon snack can be a challenge. Having a meal replacement bar or shake can give you the healthy fuel you need. Also, most meal replacement supplements are fortified with vitamins and minerals which is a far cry from the candy bar. Supplements allow you to get exactly the right amount of calories in your meal as well. Especially, if you are going after a weight loss goal you don't need to eat any extra calories. What should I eat for my 5 small meals? The first answer is the same things you are eating now only cut them in half. You will find that the sugar cravings go away so we automatically start eating less sugar. The goal is to go to the super market thinking about what you want to eat for your meals. If you buy it at the grocery store than you will have it ready when it is time to eat? Liveleantoday.com's diet program creates weekly menus that print out grocery lists to make this process easy. Start eating every 2-3 hours and turn your metabolism into a fat burning machine. I know you might be laughing, not your metabolism. Today if you start eating 5 small meals your body will start to turn over. You will know this is working because you will have more energy than you have ever had before.
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